California Senate approves new approach on sex trafficking

State Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, asks colleagues to approve SB 1322 in June 2016. Under the bill, which took effect Monday, a minor engaged in prostitution will be treated as a victim and not arrested. Those soliciting the sex and those a

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State Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, asks colleagues to approve SB 1322 in June 2016. Under the bill, which took effect Monday, a minor engaged in prostitution will be treated as a victim and not arrested. Those soliciting the sex and those a

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A longtime Sacramento County sheriff's deputy was among 12 men cited in a Roseville prostitution sting last week.

Sgt. Shaun Hampton, Sacramento County sheriff’s spokesman, said Steed is a longtime employee. The Sacramento Bee’s archives indicate he has been a deputy with the department since the mid-1990s and has served as a detective investigating gang activities.

Hampton said Steed is under investigation by the department following the citation. Hampton said he did not known whether Steed had been placed on leave.

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Undercover officers from the Roseville Police Department posted advertisements last week on websites frequently used to sell sex, Gunther said. On Dec. 15 and 16, the would-be clients met their “dates” in Roseville motel rooms, where the johns were briefly detained and issued citations by police.

Those cited in addition to Steed were:

Aaron Boren, 51, Roseville

Joseph Desilvestro, 40, Sacramento

George Ignatius, 37, Roseville

Gregory Kelly Jr., 31, Sacramento

Alicia Lopez, 31, Sacramento

Mario Lopez, 32, Sacramento

Angelo Marks, 33, Citrus Heights

Venkatakrishna Nallaballi, 38, Folsom

Brian Oates, 42, Sacramento

Oscar Ochoa, 25, Folsom

Aleksey Zamoshnikov, 35, Sacramento

Each person was cited for soliciting a prostitute, a misdemeanor under state law. The police department also confiscated approximately $2,500 from the johns, which they had intended to use to pay for sex acts.

Roseville police cited 10 people for soliciting a prostitute in a similar sting in August. A man who responded to the police department’s ad by offering to drive prostitutes to dates for cash was also arrested on charges of pimping.